2021 Tennessee Code
Part 2 - Claims and Payment of Compensation
§ 50-6-207. Schedule of Compensation

The following is the schedule of compensation to be allowed employees under this chapter:
For injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2014, attorneys' fees in contested cases of permanent disability shall be calculated upon the first four hundred fifty (450) weeks of disability only;
In case an employee who is permanently and totally disabled becomes a resident of a public institution, and provided further, that if no person or persons are wholly dependent upon the employee, then the amounts falling due during the lifetime of the employee shall be paid to the employee or to the employee's guardian or conservator, if adjudicated incompetent, to be spent for the employee's benefit; such payments to cease upon the death of the employee;
When an injury not otherwise specifically provided for in this chapter totally incapacitates the employee from working at an occupation that brings the employee an income, the employee shall be considered totally disabled and for such disability compensation shall be paid as provided in subdivision (4)(A); provided, that the total amount of compensation payable under this subdivision (4)(B) shall not exceed the maximum total benefit, exclusive of medical and hospital benefits;
(i) If an employee is determined, by trial or settlement, to be permanently totally disabled, the employer, insurer or the department, in the event the subsequent injury and vocational recovery fund is involved, may have the employee examined, at the expense of the requesting entity, from time to time, subject to the conditions outlined in this section, and may seek reconsideration of the issue of permanent total disability as provided in this subdivision (4)(C);
The request for the examination of the employee may not be made until twenty-four (24) months have elapsed following the entry of a final order in which it is determined that the employee is permanently totally disabled. Any request for an examination is subject to considerations of reasonableness in regard to notice prior to examination, place of examination and length of examination;
A request for an examination may not be made more often than once every twenty-four (24) months. The procedure for this examination shall be as follows:
The requesting entity shall first make informal contact with the employee, either by letter or by telephone, to attempt to schedule an appointment with a physician for examination at a mutually agreeable time and place. It is the intent of the general assembly that the requesting entity make a good faith effort to reach a mutual agreement for examination, recognizing the inherently intrusive nature of a request for examination;
If, after a reasonable period of time, not to exceed thirty (30) days, mutual agreement is not reached, the requesting entity shall send the employee written notice of demand for examination by certified mail, return receipt requested, on a form provided by the department. The form shall clearly inform the employee of the following: the date, time and place of the examination; the name of the examining physician; the employee's obligations; any pertinent time limitations; the employee's rights; and any consequences of the employee's failure to submit to the examination. The examination shall be scheduled to take place within thirty (30) days of the date on the notice;
After receipt of the notice of demand for examination, the employee shall either submit to the examination at the time and place identified in the notice form, or, within thirty (30) days from the date of the notice, the employee shall schedule an appointment for a different date and time conducted by the same physician, and this examination shall be completed no later than ninety (90) days from the date of the notice;
Subsequent to an examination as described in this subdivision (4)(C), the employer, insurer or department may request a reconsideration of the issue of whether the employee continues to be permanently totally disabled based on any changes in the employee's circumstances that have occurred since the time of the initial settlement or trial;
Prior to filing any request for reconsideration, the employer, insurer or department shall file a petition for benefit determination and participate in alternative dispute resolution pursuant to § 50-6-236. In the event the parties are unable to reach an agreement through alternative dispute resolution, the workers' compensation mediator shall issue a dispute certification notice and the employer, insurer or department may file a request for a hearing, as provided in § 50-6-239, to determine the issue of reconsideration.
In the event a reconsideration request is filed pursuant to this section, the only remedy available to the employer, insurer or department is the modification or termination of future periodic disability benefits;
In the event the employer, insurer or department files a request for reconsideration or cause of action under this subdivision (4)(C) and the court does not terminate the employee's future periodic disability benefits, the employee shall be entitled to an award of reasonable attorney fees, court costs and reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by the employee in responding to the request for reconsideration upon application to and approval by the court. In determining what attorney fees shall be awarded under this subdivision (4)(C), the court shall make specific findings with respect to the following criteria:
The time and labor required, the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved in responding to the request for reconsideration, and the skill requisite to perform the legal service properly;
The fee customarily charged in the locality or by the attorney for similar legal services;
The amount involved and the results obtained;
The time limitations imposed by the client or by the circumstances; and
The experience, reputation, and ability of the lawyer or lawyers performing the services;
(i) The employer, insurer or department, in the event the subsequent injury and vocational recovery fund is involved, shall notify the department, on a form to be developed by the department, of the entry of a final order adjudging an employee to be permanently totally disabled. The form shall be submitted to the department within thirty (30) days of the entry of the order;
On an annual basis, the department shall require an employee who is receiving permanent total disability benefits to certify on forms provided by the department that the employee continues to be permanently totally disabled, that the employee is not currently working at an occupation that brings the employee an income and has not been gainfully employed since the date permanent total disability benefits were awarded, by trial or settlement;
The department shall send the certification form to the employee by certified mail, return receipt requested and shall include a self-addressed stamped envelope for the return of the completed form; and
In each annual cycle, if the employee fails to return the form to the department within thirty (30) days of the date of receipt of the form, as evidenced by the date on the return receipt notice, then the department shall notify the entity who gave notice to the department that the employee was permanently totally disabled pursuant to subdivision (4)(D)(i) that four (4) weeks of periodic disability benefits shall be withheld from the employee as a penalty for the failure to return the form to the department. If the completed form is returned to the department within one hundred twenty (120) days of the date on the return receipt notice, the department shall notify the appropriate entity and then, within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the notice from the department, that entity shall refund to the employee the entire four (4) weeks of periodic disability benefits previously withheld from the employee;
Deductions in Case of Death. In case a worker sustains an injury due to an accident arising primarily out of and in the course and scope of the worker's employment, and during the period of disability caused by the injury death results proximately from the injury, all payments previously made as compensation for the injury shall be deducted from the compensation, if any, due on account of death; and
For social security purposes only, as permitted by federal law or regulation, in an award of compensation as a lump sum or a partial lump sum under this chapter for permanent partial or permanent total disability, the court may make a finding of fact that the payment represents a payment to the individual to be distributed over the individual's lifetime based upon life expectancy as determined from mortality tables maintained by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.